Rihanna Dropped From Nivea Campaign

Rihanna Dropped From Nivea Campaign

A new CEO cites family values as a reason for dropping the singer.

Published August 8, 2012

We all know sex sells, but sometimes it can go too far for certain companies. According to the Daily Mail, Nivea Cosmetics has dropped Rihanna from their campaign. Stefan Heidenreich, the new CEO of Nivea's parent company Beiersdorf, said that the singer is a "no go" and cited the company's family values as a reason to drop the star.

"I do not understand how to bring the core brand of Nivea in conjunction with Rihanna," Heidenreich said. "Nivea is a company which stands for trust, family and reliability."

Nivea teamed up with Rihanna in 2011 to help celebrate the brand's 100th anniversary and market the skincare line to a younger audience. She appeared on ads, her song "California King Bed" (which had a steamy music video) played in the background of the campaign's commercials and Nivea sponsored her Loud tour. Back then, Nivea was thrilled to work with Rihanna and felt that her influence in social media would help promote the brand, but now that there's a new chief in town, they've changed their tune about the singer.

"Within the future brand positioning, Nivea focuses more than ever on its core values," a Nivea spokesperson told Marketing Week. "This leads to a change in advertising strategy as well as marketing campaigns. Beiersdorf and Nivea thank Rihanna for her work with the 100th birthday anniversary campaign and feel respect and sympathy for her as a person and artist."

As for Rihanna's response, she tweeted a head shot of Heidenreich with the words, "No caption necessary."

BET.com always gives you the latest fashion and beauty trends, tips and news. We are committed to bringing you the best of Black lifestyle and celebrity culture.